cover image Sounds My Feet Make

Sounds My Feet Make

Arlene Blanchard, Vanessa Julian-Ottie. Random House Books for Young Readers, $4.95 (18pp) ISBN 978-0-394-89648-9

In this Just Right book, a girl in bright-red boots mimics the sounds that her boots make on a walk to her grandmother's house: ``Splish! Splash! Splosh!'' in puddles and ``Clang! Clang! Clang!'' on metal grids. She also notices the squeaks in a new pair of Mary Janes, the shuffle of her old slippers and the quiet of her bare feet on the carpet, as she tiptoes in to her parents' bedroom to get warm in their bed. Julian-Ottie's illustrations are softly realistic, filling out the actions implied in the text. The book lacks momentum, however; in the quest for simplicity the author did not include details that would involve children even minimally. Ages 2-3. (Apr.)